How to increase followers on Twitter

Posted on May 6, 2011

How to increase followers on Twitter

Twitter has become a key tool for marketers to reach broad audiences and share content. To reach large audiences, it helps to have a large number of followers. However, the process is a bit more complicated than simply hitting the follow button on everyone and anyone on Twitter and then crossing your fingers to hope they follow you back.

Researcher and popular author Dan Zarella recently provided insight into five of the most important points to keep in mind to gain more followers.

1. Show us who you are

People with pictures accompanying their profile on Twitter average more followers. When you first sign up for Twitter, you are asked for three pieces of identification – brief bio, picture and a link. Take a few minutes to fill out this information, and it could equate to more followers.

2. Stop talking about yourself

According to Zarella’s research, accounts with fewer tweets about themselves have more followers. What did you talk about on your first date? If you talked about yourself all night, I doubt there was a second date.

3. Don’t just converse

Twitter users with more followers don’t tend to reply as often as those with fewer followers. Zarella highlights that it’s not necessary to respond every time you receive an @reply; you need to find a balance.

4. Identify yourself authoritatively

Authoritative terms like “expert” and “guru” may seem a bit overused in bios, but they do tend to draw in more followers. When users can be described as an authority, they should call it out in their bio, showing others why they should be followed.

5. Don’t be a Debbie Downer

Resist urges to vent about your bad day. No one wants to hear negative remarks like sadness, aggression and negative emotions. Twitter users with a more cheerful outlook trend with more followers.

Growing a lengthy list of followers on Twitter will require some research and thoughtful posting, but with these tips, marketers can begin to reach a broader audience using Twitter as a new resource for their work.

Airfoil is a creative marketing and public relations firm serving innovative, cutting edge companies in the technology, consumer, healthcare, automotive, manufacturing sectors. With talented pros in NYC/New York City, Detroit and Silicon Valley, plus partners in London, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong, Airfoil is trusted by top brands to help their products, services and reputations soar.